June 27, 2007 10 Night - The Rodney Dangerfield of Med Cruises

[GeneralMax]

We loved the DVD. The kids watched it twice. It had some useful information too. I travel for work all the time and did not know that your passport had to be good for another 6 months after the trip for Europe. Fortunately mine is good for 7 months.

I had a serious moment of panic because I have to got to India for work in May and did not know how I would get a new passport and travel VISA in time.

 

[GeneralMax]

Okay here is the link [

At this point I have booked 3 private tours Barcelona, Naples & Rome. I am having problems with the private tour companies for Florence (this may be because of the port or because I want to bring all of my kids ) so I will book Disney Pisa tour as back up at this time!

I am really struggling with the private tour concept for Rome. I seems very expensive. I am getting quotes at around 1100 Euros for 5 of us. Am I looking at the wrong tours and more importantly am I crazy to be cheap on this one thing - since we have not been cheap on anything else related to this vacation?

 

[RJAYL]

Okay here is the link [

At this point I have booked 3 private tours Barcelona, Naples & Rome. I am having problems with the private tour companies for Florence (this may be because of the port or because I want to bring all of my kids ) so I will book Disney Pisa tour as back up at this time!

I am really struggling with the private tour concept for Rome. I seems very expensive. I am getting quotes at around 1100 Euros for 5 of us. Am I looking at the wrong tours and more importantly am I crazy to be cheap on this one thing - since we have not been cheap on anything else related to this vacation?

Who is quoting you 1000 euros that is high? 600 is about average however that does not include a guide or admisions.

 

[GeneralMax]

I am getting quoted about 600 Euros for just transportation but I was assuming we would want/need a guide and that costs about 50 Euros an hour. Are you going without the guide?

 

[RJAYL]

I am getting quoted about 600 Euros for just transportation but I was assuming we would want/need a guide and that costs about 50 Euros an hour. Are you going without the guide?

Most drivers will give you a limited verbal tour, I am getting a guide for pompei and the vatican museum only about 2 hours each. We are a party of 6 As the Dollar-Euro exchange is pretty bad, I have only booked 3 private tours Rome Naples & Barcelona.

Robert Lasoff

 

[michellebriana]

On the excursion thread, someone mentioned a nice beach 1 mile from the Olbia, Sardinia port. Anyone know anything about this? I'd much rather take a cab there (or even walk) than pay to go 45 minutes away to another beach. We are currently booked at La Cinta Beach.

 

[carolmb]

Okay here is the link [

At this point I have booked 3 private tours Barcelona, Naples & Rome. I am having problems with the private tour companies for Florence (this may be because of the port or because I want to bring all of my kids ) so I will book Disney Pisa tour as back up at this time!

I am really struggling with the private tour concept for Rome. I seems very expensive. I am getting quotes at around 1100 Euros for 5 of us. Am I looking at the wrong tours and more importantly am I crazy to be cheap on this one thing - since we have not been cheap on anything else related to this vacation?

The below links were posted by MV Photon on another thread. I hope this helps you. We are on the June 16th cruise. Also here is the link to the cruise critic boards for the western and eastern med: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=234
Good luck with you travel plans.

Europe 2007: Private Guides / Drivers / Tours

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many veteran Mediterranean cruisers assert that their experiences have been enhanced via the use of private tour guides at several ports.

Potential advantages include:
customized itineraries
see exactly what you want
leave once you've seen enough
luxury Mercedes mini-vans
access to ancient & narrow inner-city streets, off-limits to large buses
not touring with lots of other people's children (...sorry!)
no waiting for stragglers to return to the bus
opportunity to bypass lines at popular attractions (w/ licensed guides)
While such tours may appear to be costly at 450 - 660 Euro/day, that fee covers an entire party of 6 - 8 passengers; thus, the cost per person is competitive with that of the cattle calls.

While I claim no first-hand expertise, I have spent many hours perusing the Boards at several cruise forums (e.g. – www.cruisecritic.com) to compile this list of recommended firms & guides at Disney Cruise Lines’ 2007 European ports of call, in rough order of the frequency & enthusiasm of endorsements:

Barcelona
www.pepitotours.com/private-tours-barcelona.html Jose Soler
http://wwguides.com/forums/member.php?u=243
www.gobarcelona.com/
BCNtour-taxi Armando Panedas
(34) 60-419-756 armandopanedas@vodafone.es
www.barcelonatourguides.com/ Patrick
http://www.taxiinternacional.com/eng...ernacional.htm Angie

Palermo, Sicily
www.easytoursicilia.it/indexe.htm Sylvano Lunetta
www.sicily-tour.com/ Stephen Davies
www.sicilylife.com/Tours.htm

Don’t miss the Capuchin Catacombs:http://www.palermoweb.com/sottopaler...appuccini1.htm

Naples (Pompeii)
http://driveamalfi.com/ Salvatore Lucibello, Adriano, Roberto
www.drivesorrento.com/ Nello Russo
www.seesorrento.com/chi_sono_eng.html Marcello Maresca, Eugiene, Marco
www.aptours.it/Site/default.asp?Lang=EN Alberto
www.francescomarrapese.com/excursions.htm Francesco
www.pleasantravel.com/index.htm Mariano Fiorentino
www.jackthedriver.com/ Jack, Lorenzo Bianco
www.benvenutolimos.com/ Giovanni
http://www.sorrentocardrivers.com/Si...lt.asp?Lang=EN Raffael
www.cuomonet.it/ Renato
http://aldotaxi.net/ Aldo
www.driverinrome.com …but avoid Guiliana
http://tourofitaly.com/
www.hiddenitalytours.com/ Mariano Fiorentino

Olbia, Sardinia


Civitavecchia (Rome)
http://www.drivinguide.com/shore_excursions.htm Paolo Apolloni
www.limoinrome.com/home.htm Claudio Caponera , Fabrizio
www.driverinrome.com/ Daniele Melaragno, Remo (his father), Pepe, Manny
http://romeinlimo.com/ Duman & Carlo
www.romelimousineservice.com/ Max Leotta
www.romecabs.com/ Stefano Costantini
www.romeconnection.com/ Marco

Don’t miss the Scavi Tour (Vatican necropolis):http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/in...040112_en.html

La Spezia (Florence / Pisa)
www.florencetour.com/ Paola Migliorni
www.abcwine.it/off shore.htm Carla Giomi
www.tuscanyinmypocket.com/ Guido
Marcello Grandini Marcello.tourguide@tiscali.it
www.papillonservice.com/ Lisa, Roberto
www.tuscanybytaxi.it/ Ricardo
www.sunflower-tours.com/services.htm Giovanni Sirabella
www.limoinrome.com/home.htm Claudio
Giovanni Bassi - architect & urban historian G.bossi@dada.it
Alessandro Cammilli alecamma@hotmail.com
Pauline Priore paulinep@tin.it

Pre-book tickets to Ufizi and Academia Galleria:www.florenceart.it/
Dial 011 (U.S. international access code) 39 (Italy's country code) 055-294-883 during the hours of 8:30 AM -6:30 PM M-F & 8:30-12:00 Sat. Florence time.

Pre-book to Leaning Tower of Pisa (available 45 – 16 days in advance): www.opapisa.it/boxoffice/index.jsp

Marseilles
http://www.provence-travel.com/prove...rs/cities.html Catherine D'Antuono
http://rendez-vous-provence.com/en/contact.html Olivier N’guyen
www.taxidurand.com/guide2.htm
www.provence-taxi-tourisme.com/
http://provencesightseeing.com/
http://provencetours.free.fr/accueil_anglais.htm
Villefranche (Monte Carlo / Cannes / Nice)
www.revelation-tours.com/cruise.html Michel LeGrand, Isoline
www.dream-tours.com/layout.php?page=106&lang=us Alain, Frederic, Jean Marc
www.azur-guides-interpretes.com/ Sylvie DiCristo
www.riviera-prestige-tours.com/ Eva Devemy

 

[michellebriana]

Well I booked the excursions for my first time cruising dad at 3:00 AM today! The only excursion which I booked for myself that was sold out was Florence & Pisa. Also at 3:00 AM there were 4 nights of Palo available. I decided not to book and then figured I would book this morning at 9:30 ET and only the rome night was available! So our excursion returns at 7:00 PM and the Palo reservation is also at 7:00. Hopefully we are not late coming back!

 

[micluver]

I was thinking about the 75 day out guys today, I couldn't remember if today was the day or not. Good for you!

Have anyone else received a DVD?

Micluvr

Well I booked the excursions for my first time cruising dad at 3:00 AM today! The only excursion which I booked for myself that was sold out was Florence & Pisa. Also at 3:00 AM there were 4 nights of Palo available. I decided not to book and then figured I would book this morning at 9:30 ET and only the rome night was available! So our excursion returns at 7:00 PM and the Palo reservation is also at 7:00. Hopefully we are not late coming back!

 

[Hygiene99]

I'll admit it. I was one of the insane people up at 3am to book excursions/Palo/etc. However, instead of going back to sleep for another hour, I opted to wait it out. My friend and I had a few excursions on our wishlist that were described as having "limited capacity" so I wanted to make sure we got them -- "Gnochetti..." pasta making in Sardinia, "Chateau Neuf de Pape & Avignon", and "Nice & Eze w/wine and cheese". For the safety and comfort of yourself and others, please do not get between me and wine & cheese. Earlier that evening, I was finally able to book the Paris-Barcelona sleeper train via RailEurope. I feel all reservationed out!

If anyone has any suggestions for transport between DLP and Gare d'Austerlitz for 2 people with luggage, please share! I know we can get as far as Gare d'Lyon via RER metro line A. Then there's a bus transfer, but I don't think we can do that w/2 pieces of hand luggage each. Perhaps a cab from that point wouldn't be too expensive? I found a shuttle company online that wants 85euros for the one way!

Will have to let you know how they are!


Just stopping in to say Hi!

 

[ImprovGal]

Will have to let you know how they are!


Just stopping in to say Hi!

Save some wine for us!

Hey, how come you never warned me about Gingerbread Construction Co. and their muffins????? Must... re... sist.....

 

[Hygiene99]

Save some wine for us!

Hey, how come you never warned me about Gingerbread Construction Co. and their muffins????? Must... re... sist.....

Tooo Funny!


Right up the street from our house!!!

 

[AnnaS]

After some researching and emailing some different websites, I finally got one reply from sardegnaweb.it linking me to this website if anyone is interested:

http://www.justsardinia.it/

I have emailed them this morning and I am tempted to do a beach on our own. I know we can get a cab at the port, but I am worried about getting picked up.

Please post if anyone emails them and gets a reply.

Curious with responses.

Thank you.

 

[mickeymad]

We are also planning on just beaching it in Sardinia. Perhaps we can arrange for taxis to return at a certain time for us. The right tip could encourage them to come back!

It's hard to believe the repositioning cruise leaves in less than 30 days now! I was lurking on their boards and they haven't received their final paperwork yet. I was hoping to get it soon so we can drool over the pages. I just got my new DCL passporter with the info on the med. It's great and makes me want to go now!

Don't get the Gingerbread construction co. joke.... Must be an east coast thang....

I tried to go on at the 75 day mark and get a Palo brunch or high tea ressie but, alas, still sold out. Does anyone think that there may be some available at embarkation?

Final question, anyone else staying at the AC Barcelona prior to cruisin'. We arrive on June 23rd to the AC......

Thanks and happy dreams!
Julie

 

[GeneralMax]

Julie-

We arrive in Barcelona on the 24th but we are at a different hotel. My advice on Palo's is to get to the ship early and try then. I am betting they have held back some times for people to sign up the first day.

 

[TDC Nala]

I've got the high tea booked but I may cancel it. I was not crazy about it.

But that would be only one space.

 

[ImprovGal]

I've got the high tea booked but I may cancel it. I was not crazy about it.

But that would be only one space.

Ah, the Palo reservations are for entire tables -- "1-2" gets a 2-top, "3-4" a 4-top. So, it would take the cancelling of the entire table to free up a reservation space.

 

[Hygiene99]

Don't get the Gingerbread construction co. joke.... Must be an east coast thang....


Thanks and happy dreams!
Julie

Julie, here you go
http://www.gingerbreadusa.com/

There muffins are awesome!!!!

 

[TDC Nala]

Ah, the Palo reservations are for entire tables -- "1-2" gets a 2-top, "3-4" a 4-top. So, it would take the cancelling of the entire table to free up a reservation space.

well then, if you want the table, it might be all yours...fyi the Grand Floridian tea is much better. I think I'd rather do a wine or beer or martini tasting.

Hey Peter

 

[RJAYL]

well then, if you want the table, it might be all yours...fyi the Grand Floridian tea is much better. I think I'd rather do a wine or beer or martini tasting.

Hey Peter

Forget the tea!

I am going to get 1 or 2 of those Palo choclate soufle's delivered to my room every night!

This is one of the few things my DW agrees with me!